A few days ago I read the following article about a woman who's phone dropped in a cesspool, and whose husband and mother died while trying to retrieve it.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1402716/wife-drops-phone-in-cesspool-husband-and-his-mother-die-trying-to-get-it/
Such a tragic and sad story. It caused me to reflect a little on technology though, and how easy it is to become dependant upon it. I'm guessing that the man who jumped in probably didn't even give it a second thought before jumping in...just as you or I may not give it a second thought to how our phones or internet are the first thing we look at in the morning. We probably don't give a whole lot of thought to how that is the first place we go to for information. The first way we think of connecting with friends or to plan an activity. I can assure you I have jumped a time or two to rescue an iPad from a child who was about to drop it with a little bit of a yelp. We probably don't realize how often we are holding and looking at it when a spouse or child come home from work or school. And can anyone deny how hard it is to not run instantly to the phone the second you hear that little beep announcing a text. Our phones (and the internet) have definitely become appendages to our bodies and lives.
I have so many excuses as to why I 'NEED' my phone, I often forget that it really is just a luxury and not one that should have such control over my life or my time.
Some of my favorite benefits -
Being able to speak to my husband whenever I want
Texting people is a great way to avoid a long conversation...
Going on a road trip and being able to contact people long distance
Being able to contact my kids while being babysat...likewise they can contact me at any time
Being able to check facebook while standing in a long line
Being able to give it to my child when whatever errand we are running is taking way to long
Instant telephone book
Direction finder
I often feel that I desperately need the phone, so that I can instantly be contacted in the event of an emergency. Truth be told though, the only emergency I have yet to be contacted for in the last year and a half is that of the school calling to tell me that my son forgot his lunch and could I please get him one to the school as soon as possible. Which I did, only to discover that his lunch was indeed in his backpack, just a different pocket. Sad, but true.
I am currently on a phone plan for my IPhone 5, that costs approximately $70/month/3 year contract (with just a year and a half left). I get free unlimited calls in Canada/free texting and 1gb of data. (I have no voicemail or call display features). Truth be told, 95 per cent of the time, I really don't need all of these features. However, there really is a sense of security that comes with it knowing that I can be reached at any time. Is it really worth $840 a year for this luxury?
My husband also has a phone, however, his is paid for by work until his job ends at the end of July, at which time we will probably go down to one phone until he is employed again. Scary thought...being without a phone. In the meantime, I will contact my service provider and find out other options. Really, my pay and talk served me fine as well, and offered me a limited but sufficient amount of security.
Just today, a friend posted that she is going to try and go off Facebook for the summer, mostly because her husband doesn't think she can do it. Sometimes I feel it might be a good idea to try a simple exercise like that just to show that we can survive not being dependant on technology in our lives.
My goal for this week is to find out my options for decreasing the cost on my phone plan. I'll keep you posted. Are you willing to lower you monthly phone costs to help save for living your life?
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